Summer Camp
by zElliexmagic
Summary: After being a loner for so long, Lucy Heartfilia is being forced by her parents to join the Fairy Tail youth group and take a camping trip with them for three weeks. Knowing absolutely no one and wanting to be alone, Natsu Dragneel barges his way into her life. He was way more than she bargained for. NaLu
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

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Summer Camp (Ch. 1)

"No," the blonde teenager answered as she buried herself deeper into her bed, throwing the comforter over her.

"But Lucy," Layla protested, "this'll be good for you. Your father thinks so too."

"But, Mom, I don't want to go," Lucy poked her head out of her sheets with a look in her eyes that said, " _please don't make me do this._ "

"Lucy, this'll be good for you," her mother repeated as she sat down at the edge of her bed. "You need to make some friends."

"Mom," Lucy sat up, "I don't need friends. I have you and Dad. That's enough."

"No, it's not."

Lucy sighed. Ever since she was in seventh grade, Lucy had been struggling a lot with things that had happened in her past. Everything mostly had to do with her childhood friends – well, now they're her ex-friends – and the things they did to her. Because of that, Lucy had put thick walls up around her. She had no friends; she was a loner and was perfectly fine with it.

It's not that Lucy had trouble making friends, by all means, many girls have come up to her and asked her to hang out with them, but Lucy always turned them down. When she was around people, she felt uncomfortable. She felt weirdly out of the loop and like she didn't belong. She felt crowded and in need of air. Mostly, she didn't want anymore scars on her heart.

There have been many guys that had asked her out, but Lucy would turn them down as well. She knows that it was only for her good looks and she wanted she wanted to go on dates, yes, but she wanted it to be out of love, not out of lust.

On the other hand, every time she turned someone down, every time the person would walk away, Lucy would always frown. Of course though, it's been a very long time since she's smiled, but sometimes, when she was alone, away from the crowd, and in her comfort zone, she would sometimes feel so utterly _lonely_ …but when she was out of her comfort zone, she was uncomfortable and wanted to be left alone.

So to this day, in the middle of summer before her Junior year, she still couldn't answer a simple question: does she want friends or not?

Of course, Lucy's parents, Jude and Layla, had quickly noticed their only child's suffering and tried to help her as much as they could, but when walls are built, they're hard to tear down.

"It's a camping trip, Lucy," her mother brought her out of her thoughts. "It'll be fun."

"Mom, I really don't want to go…"

"You _have_ to go, Sweetie. Your father has already paid and signed what he needs to. All that's left is to pack your bags and drop you off."

"What?! Ugh!" Lucy collapsed back on her bed, "why didn't you run this by me first?"

"Because if we did, we knew you'd say no."

Lucy only answered with another groan, knowing her mother was right.

"You'll be going to Fairy Tail High in August anyway, Lucy," Layla said. "You might as well join the Fairy Tail youth group and get to know some people."

Lucy lived in Acalypha with her parents her entire life. When it was said that The Heartfilias were moving to Magnolia because of her parents' job, Lucy couldn't express the utter joy and relief she felt. All the mistakes, all the bad friends living in Acalypha, would stay there as she escaped all the pain. In Magnolia, her reputation wasn't known and she could start over. The only problem was, she was too scared to get close to anyone and fear builds up walls thicker.

She just didn't want another broken heart.

Lucy sighed, "Alright, fine. When do I leave?"

"Tomorrow early in the morning. You have to be at the high school by six o'clock. The bus leaves at six-thirty. It'll take you about seven hours to get the Greenville. That's where the camp site is at."

Lucy raised an eyebrow, but when she saw that her mother was serious, she collapsed on her bed again, "I'm convinced you're trying to kill me. Ugh…seven hour bus ride…"

Layla giggled. "When you reach the camp site in Greenville, call me okay? You can't bring your cell phone, but the youth leaders will let you borrow theirs."

"So are we going up a mountain or something?"

"No, it's on ground level. There's supposed to be a bunch of fun activities planned for each day. You need to bring your swimsuit and plenty of clothing."

"How long will I be gone?"

"Three weeks."

"Three weeks?! Are you kidding me?!"

"You'll be fine," Layla pat her daughter's shoulder. "You'll have fun, I know it. Call us every once in a while, okay?"

"Three weeks…." Lucy groaned into her pillow.

"You'll be fine," Layla repeated, pulling out clothing from Lucy's closet and throwing them onto her bed. "There'll be other youth groups from different cities as well, so you might get to know other strangers as well. I think one of the youth groups is called Sabertooth…and there's Lamia Scale…You could give some of them your number and text them when you come back home."

Lucy gave her mother a look, saying, " _I highly doubt it. I don't need friends._ "

"Come on, Lucy!" Her mother exclaimed, "Come pack!"

"Yes, Mom."

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Lucy wanted to run away. She wanted to dig a hole, bury herself in it, and hide until everybody was gone

Wrapping her arms around herself in comfort – even though it didn't help much – Lucy watched as the bubbly group of teenagers got along as they waited for their bus to arrive…Well, _almost_ everyone got along:

"Is that all you got, Flame Brain?!"

"Nah! That was just a warm up, Ice Princess!"

"Warm up?! No wonder your hits are so flimsy!"

"Nu uh! I just hit your head too hard you can't think straight, Stripper!"

"In your dreams, Magma Breath! I'll beat you to a pulp!"

"We'll just see about that! I'm all fired up!"

Lucy watched with a raised eyebrow as a half naked man and a pink haired man wearing a scarf (Why is he wearing a scarf? It's the middle of the hot summer.) threw punches at one another.

After a moment, a redhead had come onto the scene. "Stop this at once!" She exclaimed before hitting them both hard on the head. The two boys whimpered their apologies as they rubbed their throbbing skulls.

Lucy had flinched at the scene as everyone around her laughed. She then turned around to her parents, who were behind her, and gave them a look, "Really?"

Layla sighed before hugging her daughter, "You'll be fine, okay? It's not like those boys are going to hurt you."

"They could accidentally hit me."

"You'll be fine, Lucy," Jude pat her daughter on her shoulder. "But I want you to be careful, okay?"

"I will, Daddy. Don't worry."

When Lucy's mother let her go, Lucy turned back around to look at the bustling crowd. It seemed the two boys and the girl were now chatting amongst their friends.

 _Friends._

Lucy looked around at them all. They all seemed like they had known each other for years…and they probably have. Lucy felt like the misfit and the one out of the loop, but that was the way she liked it…or was she lying to herself again?

Oh, who is she trying to fool?! Of course she liked it like that! If she wanted to fit in, then she might as well be back in Acalypha where everyone knew her.

Sucking in a breath, Lucy shook her head, " _no_." There was _no way_ Lucy would _ever_ go back there! Why would she even consider that thought?!

"Excuse me?"

Lucy jumped as the voice sounded near her. She turned to find a short, old man waving up at her with a big smile.

"Hi there! I don't recognize you so that must mean you must be the new member of our youth group…and the new student at that, correct?"

Lucy nodded, "yes. That would be me."

"Pleased to meet ya!" He smiled wider. "My name is Makarov Dreyar, but everyone here calls me Master. I'm the principle of Fairy Tail High. We're happy to have you."

"Thank you. I'm happy to be here," That was a total lie that went along with a fake smile, but it's not like it'd do any harm. Not only did Lucy absolutely loathe getting up early, but also the fact that she was going to be away from her parents for three weeks with a bunch of strangers she doesn't know…and doesn't _want_ to know honestly.

Master Makarov then turned to Layla and Jude, "these must be your parents. There's some chocolate milk and strawberries over there if you're hungry. I'll speak with your mother and father for a moment."

"Okay," Lucy awkwardly said as she turned to walk toward a car. On the hood of it was the breakfast mentioned and Lucy found herself awkwardly biting her lip as she stood next to the redhead from earlier who was eating strawberry after strawberry.

Lucy quietly poured herself a cup of chocolate milk as she stared at the redhead devouring the food. Honestly, after watching her punch both boys, Lucy was kinda afraid of her and unconsciously took away from her. The redhead didn't notice though.

As Lucy finished her drink and threw the plastic cup into the trashcan next to her, she reached for a strawberry, but her hand collided with the redhead's.

"Oh!" It was at that moment, the redhead realized there was someone next to her. "I'm sorry! Go ahead."

"It's okay…and thank you."

Lucy tried to ignore the stare from the girl as she ate the strawberry, but it was hard when she was right next to her and she was hyperaware of strangers around her all the time.

"Um…" Lucy turned to her as the redhead reached to her upper lip, "you've got some…"

Reaching to her own lip, Lucy realized she had a chocolate mustache. Blushing, she took a napkin and wiped it off. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

After a moment of awkward silence of eating strawberries, the redhead face palmed suddenly. "I'm sorry," she said, "I haven't seen you before so I drew a blank. I'm Erza Scarlet; I'm the Student Council President at Fairy Tail High and one of the youth leaders here."

As she held out her hand, Lucy looked at it uncomfortably as she hesitantly reached out and shook it. "I'm Lucy."

"Nice to meet you, Lucy!" Erza smiled, but Lucy didn't smile back. She was out of her comfort zone and she didn't like it. "Do you want to sit next to me on the bus? We can get to know each other."

"Um…" Lucy hated turning people down, but she shook her head anyway, "I'm sorry, but no thank you. I…was planning on sitting alone."

"Ah, I see." Lucy looked surprised at her words. "You're nervous about meeting new people. I understand. However, I don't think you'll be sitting alone. We're a big youth group crowding in a bus. There might even be three per seat."

Saddened by the words, Lucy nodded, "yeah okay."

"It's okay," Erza put a hand on Lucy which she jumped slightly at, staring at her hand as if it was an alien. "After a moment, your nervousness will be gone. We're all very lively."

" _That's not the point. I'm not nervous; I'm a loner._ "

"Hey, Erza! Come over here!"

"Oh! I'm coming, Jellal!" Erza turned to Lucy before walking away, "excuse me, Lucy."

Sighing in relief to be back in her comfort zone as Erza left, Lucy ate another strawberry before walking back to her parents who had just finished talking to Master Makarov.

"It sounds very fun, Lucy," Jude said. "A few rules, but nothing too serious. They won't have you on a very tight leash there."

"What are the rules?" Lucy asked, but her father never got the chance to answer.

"Alright everyone!" Master Makarov announced, "The bus is here! It's time to go!"

"But I don't wanna get on the bus! Can't I walk?!"

"Not a chance, Natsu! You have to get on!"

"But I don't wanna….."

" _What a crybaby…_ " Lucy thought, but didn't say anything out loud.

As everyone piled on, Lucy was enveloped in a bear hug from her father. "I'm sure they'll tell you the rules. Have fun, Lucy. Don't forget to call us when you get there."

"I won't, Dad. I promise."

After one hug came another; Lucy squeezed her mother right back. "Hey, Sweetie? Talk to people okay? I don't want you to be alone."

" _No promises._ " After letting go, Lucy spoke, "don't worry, Mom. I'll be fine."

"We love you. Be safe."

"I love you too, Mom and Dad."

As Lucy entered the bus and found an empty seat by the window, Lucy groaned when she realized that Erza was right: the bus barely crammed everyone with their luggage in and someone had sat down next to her, but Lucy didn't see who.

Rolling down the window, Lucy leaned out and waved to her Mom and Dad as the bus speeded away.

" _Three weeks of torture, here I come._ "

Little did Lucy know, this summer camp would change her life…

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 **11/4/16 – 11/5/16 == The date I wrote this.**

 **-zEllie**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

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Summer Camp (Ch. 2)

Lucy ended up falling asleep on the bus half an hour after they pulled out of the high school parking lot. She didn't know how long she was asleep, but the next thing she knew, everyone was moving and Master Makarov was telling people to use the restroom and if we're hungry, buy a snack. It took Lucy a moment to realize they were in a gas station.

Rubbing her eyes and standing up, she waited for the girl who was sitting next to her on the ride to get into the aisle and slowly make her way off the bus. It was hot now, and she was starting to sweat. This morning, Lucy was cold in her room and just quickly pulled on a short skirt, a tank top, and then over it to keep her snuggled and warm, a large sweatshirt. Now it was hot, she quickly shed it, throwing it onto her seat so she could remember where she was sitting.

Once she was off the bus, Lucy stretched high into the air, letting her breath out in a sigh of relief. Ah! It was good to be off that crowded bus!

"Ow!"

Curiously, Lucy looked over.

It was the strange, pink haired boy with the scarf who had yelped. He was holding his cheek and was stumbling back. The person who had hit him was the same half naked man from this morning.

"What'd you hit me for, Gray?!"

"I've wanted to do that forever!" The man, named Gray, grinned and started to unbutton his pants. Lucy blushed and looked away, but continued to listen to what was going on. "Man! You were so annoying on that bus! When we leave again, stop puking everywhere!"

"Oi! I can't help it, Snowflake?! You were just as annoying as I was!"

"Ha! You just admitted you were annoying, Flame Brain!"

"And you didn't deny it! And put your pants back on, you Pervy Popsicle!"

"Wha-oh crap! Not again! Where did my pants go?!"

That was all Lucy heard before she turned and headed toward the bathroom.

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The employees looked surprised at the unexpected swarm of teenagers going in and out the bathroom and wandering the store. Lucy browsed through the shelves, overlooking the candy she didn't need, but hesitating at her favorite soda.

"I wouldn't buy anything if I were you."

Lucy jumped and turned around to see a tall, muscular man with orange hair slicked back and tucked behind his ears. He was so tall, Lucy almost had to crane her neck to look into this eyes, but despite that, she immediately slipped out of her comfort zone. She felt breezy and out of whack, but remained respectable anyway:

"E-excuse me?"  
"I said, I wouldn't buy anything if I were you. Unless you're really hungry, I'd wait on food. Our next stop is in Onibas where we're all going to eat. That's our halfway point."

"O-oh. I-I wasn't really hungry…it's just…" He waited patiently as she gestured to the fridge that contained the delicious soda she was addicted to. "It's _root beer_ …"

The man chuckled, "you like root beer, huh?" She nodded as he pulled the bottle out of the fridge. "You've got good taste; A&W is the best."

She blushed at his compliment – not receiving them often because she hardly talks to anyone – and bit her lip.

"I like root beer too." He smiled before putting the bottle back and holding out his hand, "The name's Gildarts Clive. I'm the bus driver for Fairy Tail, one of the youth leaders, and the Physical Education teacher for the high school."

Hesitantly and nervously, Lucy reached out and shook his hand. "Lucy."

"You must be the new girl."

"Um…yeah," she let go of his hand.

"You'd probably be good friends with my daughter, Cana, she's around here somewhere…probably over by the liquor section. She loves alcohol."

"That's great," Lucy said with fake enthusiasm in her voice. Luckily, Gildarts didn't catch it. "Um…how long have we been traveling?"

"About an hour and forty-five minutes. We're a quarter of a way to Greenville. I hope you brought something to do because it'll be another five hours until we get there."

Lucy didn't groan because honestly, she liked long car rides. It was an easy excuse to listen to her iPod as long as she wanted. Lucy knew she wasn't allowed to bring any electronics, but she was addicted to music and she'd die if her iPod wasn't with her. It was just a nano and Lucy was only going to listen to it on the way to camp and back. When she was in her cabin, she would put it away in her suitcase after it's charged. Also, even if she didn't want to listen to music, she had a book to read and if not that, she had her journal.

There was nothing else in this world Lucy was more addicted to than writing. It was her passion and her dream. She loved the way she was able to create and shape her characters the way she wanted them. It was like, to her, knitting together a scarf. First, she knits only little seams together, but soon, after hard work, it creates a beautiful piece of clothing she could enjoy. That was writing to her: she would be inspired by little ideas, get plot ideas from dreams she would have, form a few characters here and there, outline the things she wanted to happen, and then, finally, finish a beautiful story. She loved creating unrealistic expectations, the thrill of each plot twist, and it was so much fun leaving cliffhangers and write foreshadowing. She had so many stories she's writing and she loves reading the comments she gets when she posts each chapter online. Lucy is always so happy when her fans compliment and share her stories. It meant the world to her. Writing was like breathing, she needed it daily to live. Eating, sleeping, breathing, drinking, and writing are when she needed in order to live. It was in her blood and she felt desperate and incomplete when a day or two had gone by and she hadn't punched the keys on her keyboard.

However, there was one problem: as much she was adored writing, she still felt incomplete and was still a loner…She felt as if something in her life was still missing…

"Yes," Lucy answered to Gildarts. The thought of continuing her latest chapter had her itching to pick up the pencil. "I brought many things to do."

"Well that's good," he smiled at her before another youth leader, one with spiky, blonde hair with a strange lightning scar on his eye, began to lead everyone back to the bus.

"That's Laxus," Gildarts said, noticing Lucy's attention on him, "He's the Master's grandson. He had just recently graduated this year…Well! Let's get back on the bus, Kiddo! We've got a long way to go so let's grin and bare it!"

At his enthusiastic attitude, Lucy felt even more uncomfortable. She unconsciously took a step away from him and nodded, following him back to the bus.

As soon as she had sat down, the pen was to the paper and there was no way she was going to set it down anytime soon. As the bus pulled out of the gas station, Lucy checked her watch: it was almost eight. If her math was correct, they should be arriving at Greenville at four o'clock.

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Two and a half hours have gone by since the bus pulled out of the high school parking lot. Lucy had finished three chapters of her book when she decided to close her journal. She was happy no one was looking over her shoulder and reading what she was writing because it's always embarrassing to see people read what you write, except when you post them online, but even then, sometimes it's nerve-racking.

No one was paying attention to her, which was just how Lucy liked it. The girl sitting next to her had her back turned to her and was talking to her friends in different rows. Before Lucy popped her ear buds in, she caught a few words in their conversation.

"Hey Juvia, you shouldn't be rude to the new girl sitting next to you. You should talk to her. She looks lonely," a young blue haired girl with pigtails said. She looked way too young to be in high school, but Lucy then remembered that her mother had said the youth group was sixth grade on up. The girl must be one of the only middle school students here.

Lucy pretended not to listen to the conversation and looked out the window as the girl sitting next to her, named Juvia, turned to look at her before looking back at her friends. "She's not really talking to me though. And…and you know how nervous I get when meeting new people. Besides, if I was talking to her, I wouldn't be able to talk to my boyfriend!" Juvia girlishly giggled and scooted closer to the edge of her seat.

The boy across from her, who Lucy remembered was named Gray, face palmed, "ugh…Juvia, how many times do I have to tell you that I am not your boyfriend?"

"Maybe not now, but you will be someday, my darling Gray!"

Gray groaned.

"Back to the topic, Juvia," A girl with short, white hair said, "talk to her. She really does look lonely."

"B-but I don't know what to say…"

"Just say 'hi' and introduce yourself."

"Um…okay."

That was when Lucy sighed. Great, she has to deal with more people. Why can't they just leave her alone?

Then she was tapped on the shoulder.

At first, she didn't move, but Lucy knew she needed to be respectful so she turned to the curly, blue haired girl.

"U-um, hi!"

"Hi."

"I'm Juvia Locksar."

"Lucy Heartfilia."

"Nice to meet you!"

"You too."

"Um…so where are you from?"

Lucy didn't smile, trying to give off the vibe that she wanted to be left alone, but at the same time, nice and respectful. "Acalypha."

"I've been to Acalypha before. It's very pretty there."

It was in that moment that Gildarts drove the bus into a gas station to park it, saving Lucy from more discomfort, as Master Makarov said to walk across the street to the fast food restaurant for lunch…which was upsetting to Lucy.

They had stopped at McDonalds to eat which happens to be a fast food restaurant Lucy absolutely _loathes_. She just decided to go hungry and buy some food at their next stop another hour and forty-five minutes later.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

Lucy turned to the left, "Pardon?"

It was a beautiful, white haired lady that spoke. Lucy assumed it was one of the youth leaders, judging by her height.

"Aren't you going to eat?" She repeated. When Lucy said no, she introduced herself as Mirajane Strauss, or simply Mira, and tried to persuade her to eat. Lucy declined though. "Why not just get their salad? They're pretty good and healthy, unlike a bag of chips from the gas station. If it makes you feel any better, I can order a salad too and we can eat together."

Lucy hesitated and decided to change her mind, "okay, I'll get a salad, but you don't have to eat one with me. You should sit with your friends."  
"Well okay. If you say so, but you should sit with us."

Lucy shook her head, "no thanks."

Mira frowned, "well, why not?"

"Um…I'd rather not say."

"Well, okay then, but I still think you should sit with us. We'll save you a spot." With that, Mira walked away.

Sighing, Lucy ordered her food and got a medium root beer. As she waited, she as happy to find herself in her comfort zone: nobody came up and talked to her as she stood there patiently.

" _Man, Fairy Tail sure is chatty…_ " Lucy turned around to look at the group of teens eating, talking loudly, and even brawling in the middle of the restaurant. " _And very strange…_ " The same strange, pink haired man with the scarf caught her attention again and she immediately noted how fast he was shoving food down his throat. He didn't even look like he was chewing. " _He's so strange, I don't even know what to think about him._ "

When her salad came, Lucy found the quietest place she could eat without being interrupted over and over: the girls' bathroom.

At first, she didn't want to go in there and eat disgusting McDonalds in a stall on the toilet, but she was desperate not to be talked to again. She had stepped out of her comfort zone way too many times.

" _Dang! How am I going to survive three weeks of this? It hasn't even been a day_."

After eating half the salad in the bathroom stall, Lucy threw her food away in a trashcan outside. As she sipped the rest of her root beer, she was tempted to hide away back in the stall, but if she did, she wouldn't know when Laxus was going to haul everyone back to the bus, and if that happens, she'll be left behind and she didn't want that.

Instead, she sat outside on a bench and pulled out her journal again. She had a new oneshot in mind and she as itching to write it.

That was when someone cautiously sat next to her: "Hi. I'm Levy McGarden."

Lucy acknowledged her presence by a simple glance up to the short, blue haired girl before looking back down, "Hi. I'm Lucy Heartfilia." She scribbled the rest of her sentence before Levy spoke again:

"Is that your diary?"

"This?" Lucy shook her head and unconsciously scooted away from Levy. "No, it's just a journal. No big deal."

"Oh, interesting. What do you write in it?"

Lucy looked up at her, raising her eyebrow, "why do you want to know?"

Before Levy got to answer, Laxus began to lead everyone back to the bus. Luckily, everyone was supposed to sit in the same seats and Juvia didn't talk to her. Lucy sighed in relief as she popped her ear buds back in and continued to scribble down in her journal. It was good to be back in her comfort zone where she could live in her stories and hum to the melody of music.

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 **11/9/16 – 11/11/16 == the date I wrote this.**

 **-zEllie**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

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Summer Camp (Ch. 3)

Another two and a half hours later, and they had finally arrived in Greenville. Lucy stretched her limbs when she got off the bus with her luggage and checked her watch: her estimation was correct; it was nearly four o'clock. She sighed, loving the long car ride, but happy it was over. About thirty minutes before they arrived, Lucy's iPod died and she was out of inspiration which meant the pen wasn't hitting the paper anytime soon. She sat there bored and was tired of riding a bus. It was great to be off.

"OOOHHH! FREEDOM BABY! I'VE COME BACK TO LIFE!"

Squealing and jumping in fright, Lucy turned to see the strange, pinked haired boy with the scarf now kissing the ground and shouting in joy. Gray and an overly pierced, intimidating man stood over him calling him names and saying how irritated they were.

" _Now he's kissing the ground and making a scene?...He's so weird…_ "

"Alrighty then!" Master Makarov shouted to get everyone's attention. Lucy patiently waited for his words: "we're the last youth group here, so we get the leftover free beds and rooms. Gildarts will take you boys to your cabin down that road. Erza will take you ladies to your cabin down the stairs here."

"This way, everybody," Erza said, leading all the ladies away from the men. We went down the stairs to the basement where two cabins were. One was full, and the other was completely empty for all of us. As we entered the cabin, Lucy disappointingly met bunk beds and bunk buds, which meant she had to suck it up and ask someone to bunk with her. Luckily, before she looked around for a willing candidate, someone tapped her shoulder.

It was Levy. "Hi again, Lucy. I was wondering if you wanted to bunk with me."

"Yeah," Lucy nodded, "that would be great. Do you want the top or the bottom?"

"I'd like the bottom if you don't mind," she awkwardly giggled, "I'm short so I probably won't read the top."

"Okay," Lucy replied, ignoring her last comment, "I'll take the top."

As Lucy set her luggage, along with Levy's, at the foot of the bunk bed, she began to spread the sheets along with her blanket and pillow over the mattress, but before she could finish, Erza made an announcement:

"Listen up! Orientation is starting right now at the main hall down the road. You can finish getting set up later; right now, we all need to get going!"

Setting down her things and following Erza out the door, Lucy found herself watching the boys walk down the road to the left where their dorm is. They must be heading to Orientation as well.

"Hey there, Elfman!" Mira exclaimed, walking up to a tall, bulky white haired man along with the younger girl with short, white hair from earlier.

" _They must be siblings,_ " Lucy thought as she followed Erza to the main hall through the pathway, " _they look a like._ "

When Lucy first entered through the doors, there were two small rooms to the left and the right of her. To the left was a game room, with foosball, table tennis, dart throwing, and even a pool table. A couple of couches were in there as well. To the right was a tiny library with about three couches and two bookshelves. Lucy bit her lip, wanting to pull out a book to read, but knew she had somewhere to be.

She followed Erza as they went past the rooms straight ahead which opened up into a large room in the back.

At the front of the doors where you first enter, there's a basketball court which a few people from other youth groups were already playing at. After that, was a computer which a couple of adults were on making sound-checks in front of two sections of about a dozen rows of seats that most people were at already. And farther than that was a stage.

Lucy followed her youth group as they sat in the center of the left section. Lucy sat quietly in the back, behind all of them where the chairs around her were empty. She breathed a sigh of relief, feeling the lonesomeness welcome her with their cold, open arms.

Cold, open arms that she willingly fell into, like a trap, every time…

"Alright everyone! Settle down! Settle Down!" An announcer walked onto stage with a pretty young girl behind him. He was short and old, looking a lot like Master Makarov, but he seemed slightly older and without a mustache. The lady was tall, with shoulder-length green hair in a ponytail. "My name is Toma and this is my daughter, Hisui. We both own and run this campsite and we hope you have a wonderful time here…"

As Toma spoke, the seats began to completely fill in and Lucy bit her lip as she felt crowded. The empty seats next to her drew attention and were filled one by one. Lucy felt self-conscious and she didn't like it.

"…Some of you may have noticed the paper on the wall back there…" Lucy turned as Toma pointed. Near the entrance, there were sheets of paper hanging on the wall. "Those tell you the family groups you're in. Find your name, and you find your group. The purpose of family groups is getting to know people in different youth groups and, of course, to have fun…"

" _You must be joking…_ " Lucy zoned out, internally groaning. She was forced to hang out with strangers…

"You'll have group meeting with your fellow group members twice a day: after breakfast and before dinner. It lasts only half an hour."

Toma and Hisui then disappeared from sight as a projection shown onto the wall above the stage. It was a YouTube video showing the camp rules. It was simple really: no boys in girls' cabin and no girls in boys' cabin, no PDA, no inappropriate clothing, lights out at eleven-thirty, no alcoholic beverages, no drugs, no leaving the camp property without a youth leader…they were all relevant and understandable rules…Lucy could easily see herself following them and leaving them unbroken. They were simple.

As Orientation ended, before Lucy could go back to her cabin to finish unpacking, she stopped at the wall, looking for her name. It seemed other people had the same idea so Lucy had to stand on her tip toes to see. There were twelve groups total and Lucy was in number four. She read all the names off to herself:

"The leader is Mirajane Strauss from Fairy Tail," Lucy mumbled to herself. "Jenny Realight from Blue Pegasus, Yukino Agria from Sabertooth, Wendy Marvell from Fairy Tail, Shelia Blendy from Lamia Scale, me, and Eve from Blue Pegasus."

Great, she has to hang out with _that_ many people? Ugh…perfect.

Lucy immediately got out of the way for more access for other people and headed off to her cabin. Once she finished making her bed, Erza appeared next to her.

"Here, Lucy," she said, "this is your nametag. It has the schedule on the back of it and your group number next to your name. Don't lose it, okay? Dinner is in about ten minutes and the cafeteria is literally above us. Just go outside, up the flight of stairs, and the door is to your left."

"Okay, thank you," as Erza began to walk away, Lucy remembered something, "wait, Erza!"

She turned back to her, "yes?"

"You said you were a youth leader, right? Can I borrow your cell phone? I told my mom and dad I would call them when I got here."

"Of course," Erza smiled and handed her her cell phone that was tucked in her pocket.

"Thank you. I'll give it back when I'm done."

"Okay."

Lucy left the cabin with a sigh and headed up the flight of stairs. To her left, like Erza told her, was a door to the cafeteria. Lucy, though, went by it to the porch wrapping around the building and ending with a deck in the back. She sat on a bench and dialed her home number.

"Aaaaaand Gajeel steals the ball! He shoots….he scores!"

As the phone rung, Lucy looked over to her right to see a small basketball court where four boys were. Lucy immediately recognized the pink haired boy and the intimidating man with piercing, but there was a blonde man with a small scar across his eyebrow and a man with long black hair that covered his eye. They must be from a different youth group. The four of them were playing basketball.

"You cheated!" The blonde man shouted as he stole the ball, but he had a smile on his face.

"Hey! Sting, give it back!"

"Not a chance! Rogue, catch!"

"I've got it!"

"Rogue has the ball!" It was the pink haired man who was narrating everything out. "He shoots-BANANAS!-He misses!"

Thanks to the pink haired man shouting bananas, Rogue missed his shot. Sting tackled him and a brawl started, but all four of them were smiling, which made Lucy frown. What was there to smile about? She didn't understand. He made Rogue miss his shot and he was smiling? It didn't make sense to her. Why were they so happy?

"Hello?"

Lucy turned her back to them, recognizing the feminine voice, "hi Mom. It's Lucy."

"Lucy! Hi! How are you?!"

"I'm good. We made it to the campsite. I'm waiting for dinner to start."

"That's great! I'm glad you made it! So, have you made any friends?"

Lucy sighed, not wanting to go through this, "Mom, I had only just arrived. It's my first day. I haven't made any friends yet."

Freezing, Lucy realized she had just said the word "yet". It made her panic; it made her freak out. She didn't want any friends! She didn't need them!

Layla didn't realize the tiny mistake Lucy made, "well I suppose you're right…Listen, Sweetie, I have to get going, I have a meeting. I'll tell your father you called, okay?"

"Okay then."

"Don't forget to call us every so often."

"I won't, Mom. I love you."

"I love you too, Lucy. Goodbye."

"Bye."

As Lucy hung up, she noticed the boys leaving the basketball forgotten on the court as they walked past her to the cafeteria. She stood up and followed them, very hungry. She didn't eat very much today, just a simple salad, strawberries, and chocolate milk. She was rather excited for dinner.

As she sat down at a table in the far back, she kept an eye out for Erza so she could give her phone back to her.

Then, someone sat next to her:

"Hi Lucy!" It was Levy.

"Hi," Lucy turned to her, "have you seen Erza? I have to give her phone back to her."

"Um…she was right behind me," Levy turned around, tapping her chin before she caught a glimpse of red hair. "Oh, there she is! Erza!" She waved her down.

Erza smiled and waved back, sitting in front of Lucy who sighed. She didn't want company; she just wanted to give Erza her phone back and be alone.

"Hello," Erza greeted before eying her phone. "Did you reach your parents, Lucy?"

"Yes, I did. I was waiting for you to get here so I could give it to you."

"Actually," Levy spoke up, "I need to call my parents too. Erza, do you mind?"

"Not at all. Go ahead, Levy."

"Thank you," Taking Erza's phone, Levy left the crowded lunchroom to make a call.

"So, Lucy," Erza started as more people sat down at different tables around them, "how are you liking Magnolia so far? You just moved here from Acalypha at the beginning of summer, didn't you?"

"Yes," Lucy answered. "It's a lot warmer here than Acalypha, but I like it."

"That's good. And you're joining Fairy Tail?"

" _No_ ," Is what she wanted to say, but she didn't want to be rude. "Well…my parents want me to join…"

"That's great! You'll like it in Fairy Tail," Erza smiled, "we might be a little chaotic at first, but all-in-all, we love each other and have fun."

Lucy flashed her a fake smile that lasted only a second before turning to her left to see the same pink haired boy harassing his friends, Gajeel, Sting, Rogue, and now Gray at a table across the room. Why does he keep popping up? It's weird.

"Hey Erza?"

"Yes?"

Lucy nodded her head over to the boys' table, "that pink haired boy with the scarf over there…I know he's apart of Fairy Tail because I saw him this morning, but…who is he?"

Erza turned around, "him? Oh, that's-"

"Alright everyone!" Hisui walked into the middle of the room to get everyone's attention. "Dinner is ready! We're going to pray and then we'll get in line to eat, but each table will go one at a time starting with…" She looked around before her eyes landed on Lucy who shivered, "the table in the back with the ladies!"

Lucy, at first, thought Hisui was going to call on her for a moment, but she let her breath out when she didn't. Levy sat back down next to her before everyone bowed their heads.

It was spaghetti for dinner, which was absolutely amazing. Lucy found herself humming in delight at the steaming food melted on her tongue. It was the most delicious food she has ever tasted.

When she was finished with her meal, people brought slices of ice cream cake around, which Lucy admitted was just as good as the spaghetti. However, the room was packed with a bunch of youth groups and Lucy escaped out a second door onto the porch where it was less crowded. It was getting dark, which meant she should get in a shower in her cabin before anyone else does.

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After her shower and her damp, blonde hair was thrown over her shoulder in a braid, Lucy went back up to the cafeteria to buy a chocolate bar. She saw a bunch of candy to the side and she heard from Erza that she could buy some if she wanted to.

And for tradition, she did.

As she stepped back out onto the porch, she slipped the chocolate into her jacket pocket before heading back to her cabin, but before she could take a step, someone spoke up:

"Hey there, Gorgeous. What's your name?"

" _Oh no,_ " Lucy thought before sighing, "Lucy."

"Pretty name for a pretty girl."

As Lucy turned around to see who was talking to her, she blushed. It was a cute boy with dirty blonde hair and blue eyes. However, even though he was cute, he wasn't Lucy's type, especially since it's been recently discovered that he's obviously a pervert.

The question is, how does she escape?

Lucy shook her head to get the blush away, "what do you want?"

"I was hoping for maybe a kiss?"

"There's no PDA here."

"No one's around."

"I don't know you and you're not my type. Now leave me alone," Lucy began to walk away, but the man grabbed her arm.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"Ugh! Let go of me!"

"Hey!"

The two turned around to see a figure. Since it was dark, she couldn't see him at first, but as he got closer, Lucy's eyes widened; it was the pink haired man.

"What do you think you're doing, Hibiki?" He asked.  
"Back off, Man! I'm just getting this beauty alone with me."

Before Lucy could defend herself, the pink haired man spoke up again, "funny, I heard her telling you to leave her alone." He came in front of them and yanked Hibiki's grip off her arm.

"Do you have a problem?" Hibiki hissed.  
"I do now! You didn't let her go before, so I had to get involved."

"Who do you think you are, getting involved in my business?"

There was a deadly silence and Lucy found her heart racing in fear. The pink haired man spoke again, but this time, it was to her:

"Get going, Girlie. This isn't going to be pretty."

By the time the first punch was thrown, Lucy was around the corner.

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 **11/11/16 – 11/13/16 == the date I wrote this.**

 **-zEllie**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

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Summer Camp (Ch. 4)

What happened on the porch was all Lucy could think about for the time being. It had been only thirty minutes, but she constantly wondered if her rescuer was okay. In the meantime though, it was almost time for lights out and she was sitting on her bed with her chocolate bar still wrapped in her hands, watching all the Fairy Tail girls interact. They laughed and joked like friends should, and that confused Lucy. Why in the world were they laughing?

"Cana! You know the rules! No alcohol on campgrounds!"

"If you think I'm going three weeks without liquor, you have another thing coming!"

Cana. Lucy recognized that name. She's Gildarts' daughter…and it seems like she really does love alcohol.

As soon as eleven-thirty hit, the lights were out, but Lucy lay in bed with her eyes wide open: " _One Mississippi…two Mississippi…three Mississippi…_ " She mentally counted after she heard the first snore, " _…one-hundred Mississippi…_ "

That was her cue. Quickly and quietly, Lucy crept out of bed, slipped her flip-flops on, grabbed her flashlight and crept out the door. She hugged her jacket tighter to her and grasped the chocolate bar in her hands.

This was tradition; something she did since she was a little girl and she couldn't stop. It felt so good to feel the lonesomeness crowd around her as she did this every year.

As she was talking to her mother on the phone, she noticed a rundown barn at the other side of the road. It was perfect.

Turning on her flashlight and making her way over to the barn, Lucy noted all the hay around the climbed up the ladder to the second floor where more hay were scattered around. Lucy sat down in front of an open window and stared up at the starry sky before checking her watch:

…eleven-fifty-nine…twelve am…

It was time; it was July First.

She looked back up in the sky and sang in a soft voice:

"Happy birthday to me…Happy birthday to me…Happy birthday to me~….Happy birthday to me." As a shooting star went by, Lucy closed her eyes and made a wish:

" _I wish for a happily ever after…_ "

Picking a classic ending to a story was obvious, but Lucy liked classic, so that's okay.

And with that, she unpeeled the wrapper from the chocolate and took a bite.

"How old are you?"  
"AAAAHHHHHHH~~!"

She spun around, but that was before her foot caught the edge of the flooring and she began to fall which caused her to scream again.

A hand reached out and grabbed a hold of her wrist, leaving her dangling there on the edge.

"Phew! I got ya! Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you, Girlie."

"Who the heck are you?!" She couldn't help shout. Her heart was beating fast in shock. She couldn't see his face; it was hidden in the shadows, but his hand was warm and inviting, unlike what she was used to: the coldness of the lonely world.

"No need to be so loud."

She clawed at his hand, not wanting to be touched. "Let me go!"

Aaaand then she realized why he grabbed onto her in the first place…

She screamed again as she fell from the second floor to the first, landing on a pile of hay. As field mice shot out of their home underneath Lucy, she gapped before turning to the man who slid down the ladder. She still couldn't see his face.

"I can't believe you just dropped me!" She scrambled to her feet stepped away from him as he approached her.

"You're the one who told me to let go," he stepped into the light again and she realized it was the pink haired man who saved her.

She sighed, "It's _you?_ Why do you keep popping up everywhere?"

He raised an eyebrow, "what?"

"Never mind," she took a deep breath to steady herself, "what the heck are you doing after midnight out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

She didn't answer.

"Oh!" He exclaimed, pointing at her. "You're the blonde girl I saved an hour ago! Are you okay?"

"I'd be better if I hadn't taken a tumble off the second story of a barn!" She glared at him like it was his fault. Lucy knew it wasn't, but for some reason, she was angry and wanted to blame someone for her downfall.

"Gee, well aren't you a ray of sunshine…"

"You aren't any better!"

"Why're you so angry?"

She stuttered, but didn't answer. She didn't know either. Why was she so angry? Is it because he jerked her from her comfort zone and now she feels vulnerable?

Lucy froze. Her comfort zone. She was talking to a stranger out in the middle of the night. Oh my gosh. She needed to hide. She felt bare. She needed to get away from him.

"Hold on a second," he was directly in front of her now, causing her to panic. "Didn't I see you on the bus? Are you from Fairy Tail? Cool! So am I!"

She turned to run, but he grabbed her arms and yanked her back, "hey! Where're you going?!"

"Hey! Let me go! Let me go!" She fought him, but his grip was strong.

"Hey! Hey! Girlie! I'm not going to hurt you!"

"Let me go!"

She continued to fight him, but it was only when she grew tired did she stop. The long car ride, the screaming, falling, and now fighting took it out of her. All she did now was pant and look down at his warm hands gripping her arms. They were tanned a bit.

"…You cool now?"

She looked up at him. " _Onyx eyes?..._ "

"Natsu."

He flashed her the biggest grin she had ever seen. Why was he smiling? What was there to smile about? It showed all his teeth and Lucy couldn't help, but stare at how big it was. She almost didn't hear him. "What?"

"My name, Weirdo; it's Natsu."

She didn't respond.

"…Well? Aren't you going to tell me yours?"

With that went his guard. Lucy took the opportunity to yank her arms from his grip and dart off back to her cabin.

"Hey wait!" He shouted after her, but didn't follow. "What's your name?!"

She didn't answer, but kept running until she got to the door of her cabin where she steadied her racing heart.

Cinderella. That reminded her of Cinderella… He asked her name and she ran without telling him…except instead of leaving him a glass slipper, she left him a chocolate bar.

At least she knew his name now…

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Breakfast was just as delicious at dinner was. Lucy didn't know which she liked better: spaghetti or pancakes? They were both the most delicious food in the world. She'll have to get all their recipes from Hisui.

As she threw paper plate away, she and Natsu locked eyes, but she quickly turned to leave the lunchroom.

As she waited for her family group, Lucy read the schedule on the back of her nametag: breakfast 8:00, family group time 8:30, recreation 9:00, lunch 12:00, free time 12:30, family group time 5:30, dinner 6:00, late night 7:00, lights out 11:30. Lucy didn't know what recreation and late night exactly were, but four hours of free time sure is awesome!

"Hello Lucy."

Still spooked from what happened last night with Natsu, Lucy squealed and jumped away from the voice, but calmed down when it was only her family group leader, Mira.

"Oh goodness! I'm so sorry!" Mira pat her shoulder.

"I-its okay."

"I hear you're in our family group."

Lucy nodded, "t-that's r-right. I-I'm in number four."

"Great!" Mira smiled before gesturing to the little girl standing next to her Lucy didn't notice. It was the girl on the bus who was telling Juvia to talk to her. "This is Wendy Marvell. She's apart of Fairy Tail and in our family group as well. Wendy, this is Lucy Heartfilia."

"Hi," Wendy shyly waved, smiling. "I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier. It's nice to meet you."

"It's okay. It's nice to meet you too, Wendy."

"U-um…might I just say…you're very pretty!" Wendy blushed in embarrassment and hid her face as Mira giggled.

"Oh," Lucy found herself running her fingers through her hair at the compliment. "Thank you. So are you."

Family group was rather boring: everyone introduced themselves, said which youth group they were from, and one thing about themselves before they all just chatted. Lucy didn't say anything though, except, of course, for introducing herself, but as the others got to know each other, Lucy just sat silently and listened.

Afterwards, Toma introduced what recreation was. It is the time where the fun Lucy had looked forward to begins. Activities such as sliding down the three hundred foot water slid (the giant waterslide Lucy failed to notice that was right outside the main hall), completing the ropes course that was down the road where the boys' cabin, visiting the blue springs in Greenville were all types of recreation. All of those sounded fun, but today, Toma and Hisui would be taking everyone on a float trip down a river.

After everyone changed into their swimsuits and loaded onto their buses, they drove about thirty minutes off campgrounds.

After they arrived, everyone grabbed a tube and got into the water. The view was lovely: the cliffs were hanging by the river and Lucy saw many turtles, small and large. Even a snake went by, though that freaked her out, she still marveled at the wildlife and how beautiful it all was.

A few minutes after the river floated her away with all the teenagers, Lucy ditched her tube, but kept it nearby as she swam underwater, doing flips.

As she surfaced, she was greeted by a voice:

"Hi."

When she turned, her eyes widened; it was Natsu.

"U-uh…h-hi."

He floated next to her, Lucy climbed back into her tube and the two sat in awkward silence for a moment, giving her a chance to look Natsu over. She never got a good look at him and now that she does, she can see how utterly attractive he is. She bit her lip as her eyes trailed over his muscular chest and abs. the angle of his jaw and onyx eyes were handsome and his pink hair rather complimented his sun-kissed skin and-wait…why was his scarf tied around his forehead?

"So when exactly are you going to tell me your name?"

That snapped her out of her thoughts and she mentally slapped herself for checking him out, "what?"

"Your name…You _do_ have one, don't you?" The snicker in his voice was like no other and it made her shiver.

"It's Lucy."

He smirked, "was it that hard to tell me? Sheesh."

"I-I'm…sorry for what happened last night," She looked down in shame.

"Don't worry about it. I freaked you out; you didn't know me. It's okay." There it was again: the biggest smile she had ever seen.

"U-um…are you okay? I mean, from when you saved me yesterday from that pervert. He didn't hurt you too badly, did he?"

"Hibiki? He's not a pervert. He's just a big flirt. It surprised me when he wouldn't let you go. And no, he didn't hurt me. His looks are for show; he's not that tough. I just gave him a few punches to the jaw and he was running away with his tail between his legs!" He laughed rather loudly, but then turned to her with a look of seriousness. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"His grip was hard, but other than that, no."

"Well, that's good then," he flashed her that smile again.

"Thank you…for saving me."

"No problem, Luigi!"

"It's Lucy, Jerk!" She splashed him with water.

"Wha-hey!" He splashed her back, causing Lucy to fall off her tube with a small scream as Natsu laughed.

He ditched his tube, joining her in the water as she surfaced and spotted a large turtle at the shore.

"So, Lucy," she turned to him, "you're the new girl in Fairy Tail, right? Where're you originally from?"

"Acalypha. We had to move because of my parents' job."

"I see."

There was an awkward silence and Natsu noted that Lucy was looking for a way to escape from him. She looked like she was trying to get away from him. From her uncomfortable look, it seemed like she didn't trust him enough to be near him. She looked almost afraid of him…Now that Natsu thought about it, Lucy hadn't smiled or laughed at all since he's seen her.

The challenge was presented: Lucy didn't trust him? She wanted to get away from him? She didn't want to hang out with him? Well, that challenge was accepted: there was no way any of that was going to last long. He was going to earn her trust, there was no way he was going to let her get away from him, and he was definitely going to be her new best friend no matter what.

"So, Lucy," He swam closer to her as she tried to float away. "It's your birthday today, huh?"

"Ssh! I don't want anybody to know!" She blushed in embarrassment and hid her face underwater as she shushed him.

"Why not?"

"I don't want people going out of the way for me!"

"Well too bad!" He exclaimed, causing her to flinch, "I'll respect your wish, but there's no way I'm letting you hide away in that barn with only a chocolate bar. Be ready, Lucy! When free time hits, you and I are going to celebrate!"

Instead of getting the excited vibe he was expecting, fear was written on her face and it wasn't because of the snake that just went by. "Uh…that's great…I'm uh…excited…"

Natsu raised his eyebrows, " _there's something strange about this girl…_ "

Usually, that thought made him want to avoid people like her. People who are weird and have strange issues, but instead, it only made him want to know her more. It surprised him, but he didn't mind. There was no way he was letting this challenge go to waste either.

"So how old are you?"

"Eighteen."

"Hah! We're the same age!" There was that wide, wild smile again. Lucy found herself rather enjoying it. "How's it feel to be eighteen?"  
"Uh…not much different than seventeen really…"

"Really? To me, it was like, 'yes! I'm going to be moving out of the house soon!' "

"Oh? Does that mean you're a senior?"

"No, I'm a junior, I won't be moving out for another two years…" he groaned, but immediately brightened, "but hey! That's closer than when I was seventeen!" He laughed, watching her as she dove underwater to do a summersault.

"I guess that's true," she said when she surfaced, but she wasn't smiling and she wasn't laughing with him.

She didn't say anything as Natsu began to think up other conversations to get her to talk, which wasn't helping him at all. An awkward silence made itself known as Lucy climbed back into her tube to relax. Natsu did the same as he tightened his scarf around his forehead. He caught her eye watching him as he did so.

"What?"

"Nothing," she said, shaking her head and looking away.

He noticed she tried to float away from him, but Natsu refused to let her do so and followed her, eying another turtle at the shore along with a crane that was flying away at the sight of the crowd of teens. Seeing the animals gave him an idea:

"You have any pets?"

She turned to him, "huh?"

"Pets. You know? Animals? Dogs, cats…"

"…I had a dog."

Seeing her face drop means he chose the wrong subject to talk about. He bit his lip, hearing the verb use. Before he could say anything though, she spoke up:  
"His name was Plue…He died right after we moved here."

Her eyes became red, but she dove back into the water out of her tube to hide her tears. Natsu huffed and slapped himself, congratulating himself for making his new friend cry. He stayed in his tube as she surfaced.

"Hey, I'm sorry…"

"It's okay. You didn't know."

She gave him a smile and Natsu almost cheered, but that was before he did a double take and realized it was a sad smile…and not only that, but it was _fake_ and lasted a mere couple seconds.

"I have a cat," he said. "His name is Happy."

"That's a cute name."

"You should meet him when we get back to Magnolia."

"Maybe…"

He grit his teeth, not able to get anywhere with her, but he wasn't giving up. The challenge was presented and he wasn't backing down.

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 **11/13/16 – 11/14/16 == the date I wrote this.**

 **-zEllie**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

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Summer Camp (Ch. 5)

After mentioning Plue, Lucy was depressed for a couple of hours, drowning herself in misery. It didn't help that Natsu would not leave her alone; every time she tried to drift away, he would be standing next to her again. Every failed attempt to escape just made her even more uncomfortable. Having the guts to mention Plue to a stranger caught her off guard, but for some reason, she didn't mind. It's not like this happy-go-lucky boy-in-a-man's body was going to befriend her and then suddenly leave her.

Right?

That's what she's always afraid of…and that always seemed to be the case. That was one of the reasons why she didn't want friends. Every time someone walks away, she gets another scar on her heart and it always _hurts_. If Natsu was going to do the same thing, she didn't want to talk to him anymore.

On a much brighter scale, she learned a lot about him from the float trip, the bus ride back to the camp, and lunch. He was happy-go-lucky (like mentioned before), very childish (but that was actually cute), has a terrible case of motion sickness (she's never seen it that bad), he loves to fight with Gray, Gajeel, Sting, and Rogue (she was officially introduced to them by Natsu at lunch), he was carefree, he ate like a pig (literally), he had the biggest smile ever (she loved it; it amazed her how wide it was each time he showed it to her), and he was always happy.

There it was again: everyone was so happy…and Natsu seemed the happiest person alive. There wasn't a moment that she saw him without that grin (except when he was brawling with his frienemies, but even then, you could tell he was happy). It totally made her confused. Why in the world was he so happy? What was the point? And she still wanted to know what the whole scarf ordeal was.

However, when free time hit, she excused herself from the lunchroom to shower in her cabin. After that, she as able to lock herself in there and read for about fifteen minutes before Cana came in, chugging on some more liquor.

"Hey Lucy, Natsu is outside our cabin waiting for you."

She raised her eyebrows, "he is?"

Cana shrugged, "go see for yourself."

Pulling her hair up into a ponytail, she sighed. It was good to be away from people, even if it was only for fifteen minutes. Her cabin was the only place Natsu couldn't be around her and she thought she would be able to get off the hook of not celebrating her birthday with him, but apparently not.

There goes something else she learned about him: he had a strong will.

After quickly applying her makeup and pulled at her ponytail to tighten it, Lucy slipped on her flip-flops and opened their cabin door. Sure enough, Natsu was waiting outside.

"Hey!" he flashed her her new favorite smile, "took you long enough! I've been waiting out here _forever!_ "

Knowing he was over exaggerating, Lucy ignored him and questioned, "How'd you know where my cabin is?"

"Lisanna told me."

"Who's Lisanna?"

"Mira and Elfman's little sister. You know, the girl with short white hair. She's in your cabin."

"Oh, her…That's what her name is…"

"So," Natsu smiled mischievously, giving Lucy an icky feeling in her stomach, "are you ready to go have a birthday party?!"

"Ssh!" Lucy hissed, "I told you I don't want anyone to know!"

"No one's out here."

"Cana's inside!"

"The door's shut."

"I don't care!"

Natsu sighed, giving in. He was about to say something until she spoke up.

"No offense, Natsu. I appreciate you doing this for me, but honestly, I don't really want to have a birthday party."

"That's okay," He said. "There's not much you can really do for a birthday party here. There was no cake, at least none that I could find, and it's not like I could run out and buy you something."

"Even if you could, you don't have to get me anything…" Lucy bit her lip, does his words mean no party and she could go back into her cabin?

"However," he said, smiling and Lucy knew she was screwed. "I set up a picnic by the ropes course over there. I brought food-"

"-We just ate, Natsu-"

"-and I brought chocolate."

She raised her eyebrows, "chocolate?"

"Yeah!" He mentally cheered. He found something she liked. It wasn't hard to figure out that she didn't like to talk about herself. And who doesn't like chocolate? "Come on, let's go!"

Grabbing her wrist and running off, Lucy's protests fell on deaf ears as Natsu pulled her to the ropes course where no one was. The boys from their cabin might see them, but that depends on if they were loud.

Sighing, Lucy let him drag her away from her cabin.

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"So, I don't remember Sting and Rogue on the bus back in Magnolia," Lucy said as Natsu pulled her to sit down next to him. "Are they in our youth group?"

"No, they're in Sabertooth, but Gajeel and I go way back with them so we're buddies," he replied with that smile again. "Actually, every single one of us know each other from camping trips in the past. This is basically a family reunion."

"Oh," that made her feel even more left out, but she liked it that way.

"Why?"

"Just curious."

Natsu cleared his throat and pulled something out of his pocket, "Happy Birthday, Lucy!"

Before she could, once again, tell him that she didn't want to celebrate in anyway, she saw what was in his hand.

"A chocolate bar?"

"You lost yours in the barn last night so I figured I'd buy you another one."

"Natsu, you didn't have to do that," Lucy said as she took it and peeled it open.

"I know, but you're my friend and I know you like it so I bought it for you!" He flashed her that smile again.

Lucy blinked. _Friend._ He just called her his friend. That scared her. "Thank you, Natsu," She broke off a piece for him that he gladly popped into his mouth. She ate her own piece, humming in delight.

"So, tell me about yourself."

The question caught her off guard as she looked at him surprisingly, "W-what?"

"You're kinda mysterious," Natsu admitted, eying her, "you have a strange edge to you nobody else has. I wanna know you."

"Uh…do I have a strange edge in a good way or a bad way?"

"A bad way. You don't smile; you don't laugh and when you do, they're fake. I can see it on her face and I can hear it in your voice."

Lucy remained silent and looked down at her chocolate bar.

"Also, it's in a good way. You're really weird, but that's because you're different than everyone else, and that's not because you don't smile or laugh. You just have this weird way of lighting up whatever room you walk into."

She stared at him, blushing and astonished.

It's true, even Lucy knew she was different and it wasn't because she was a loner. She was always a firm believer in being herself. She didn't like it when people acted cool when it was only to gain friends and popularity. If those people you were trying to impress didn't like you for who you are then they weren't worth it. Not only that, but Lucy knows how everyone thinks and she thinks differently than everyone else, but that was most likely because she was a gifted writer. She called herself weird and she was proud of it…she called herself weird because to her, it meant that she was herself.

How in the world did Natsu figure her out in less than one day?

"What?" He noticed her staring as he popped a strawberry into his mouth.

"N-nothing," she looked away, eating a piece of her chocolate. "It's nothing."

About a minute of silence, Natsu gave the same request: "Tell me about yourself, Lucy."

"Uh…" she scratched the back of her head, "I don't like to talk about myself-oh! You brought strawberries?! Why didn't you tell me?!"

As she reached over and grabbed one, eating it immediately, Natsu smirked. Now he knew something else that she liked. "You like strawberries?"

"Chocolate covered strawberries are the best, but yes, I love strawberries."

Chocolate covered strawberries. He'd have to keep that in mind.

He brought himself back on topic, "why don't you like to talk about yourself?"

She paused before shrugging, "I don't know."

The hesitation told him that she actually know why she didn't, but he wasn't going to push her. If she didn't want to tell him, that's fine. "Okay then. Can you at least tell me about last night? What were you doing in the barn?"

"Um…It's kinda tradition for me to stay up until midnight on my birthday. I've been doing it for a long time now. I sit and watch the view of the stars and when midnight hits, I sing to myself and bite my chocolate bar. If a shooting star goes by, I make a wish."

"Did a shooting star go by last night?"

"Yes."

"What did you wish for?"

She gave him an incredulous look, "I can't tell you. If I do, it won't come true."

He chuckled at her, "fine, fine."

"What were _you_ doing in the barn last night?"

Natsu answered, "I was clearing my head. Gray and Gajeel were on my nerves and I needed to get out."

A few minutes past in silence as Lucy continued to eat strawberry after strawberry which Natsu found amusing, but didn't voice it out loud.

"Can I ask you something?" Lucy suddenly asked, "This has been bugging me since I first saw you."

"Sure, what's up?"

"Why are you wearing that scarf in the middle of the hot summer? You were even wearing it wrapped around your forehead when we were on the float trip."

Natsu smiled at her, "I'll tell you if you tell me something about yourself."

Lucy scowled at him, causing him to smirk. She really wanted to know why he was wearing that scarf…well, _one thing_ about herself couldn't hurt, but nothing that was too personal. Just something simple:

"My favorite color is light pink."

"That doesn't count."

Lucy scowled again. Maybe not _that_ simple. "Of course it doesn't."

He laughed at her.

"Uh…" she tapped her chin as Natsu waited patiently. "I…am the only child in the family."

"I am too and that doesn't count either."

She sighed, "well what exactly do you want me to say?!"

He laughed at her frustration, "I don't know! Just say something you like to do!"

"I like to read."

It was clear that Natsu was thinking whether or not that was good enough, which was putting stress on Lucy. She said something else:

"I play the violin."

That got his attention. He looked surprisingly toward her, "you do?"

"Yeah, I do. Why?"

"No reason, you just don't run into many people who play the violin."

"Does that mean _you_ play?"

"No, I play the guitar."

A moment of silence before Lucy spoke:

"I kept up my end of the deal; why do you wear that scarf?"

Natsu paused and smiled sadly. He didn't like to talk about the story behind his scarf, but wasn't like it was a secret. If he was going to gain her trust, that means _he_ needed to trust _her_ and he could tell she was a trustworthy person.  
"My dad made it for me for my tenth birthday. His name was Igneel and he would tell me stories about dragons all the time back then, so he had told me this was made out of dragon scales," he chuckled at the memory and rubbed the threading of his scarf. "Only a month after he gave this to me, he was in a car accident and past away seven years ago…So I've worn it everyday and I've never taken it off since."

Lucy's eyes widened as she apologized profusely, "I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to pry!"

"It's okay," he smiled at her, giving Lucy the questions again of why in the world was he so happy, especially after he just told her of his father's death. "Everyone knows so it's not a big deal."

Lucy looked down in silence, "I think it _is_ a big deal actually…"

Natsu looked at her questionably.

"To me, that'd be too personal for anyone to know…I'd have to really trust someone…more than my parents even…because there are some things I don't even trust them enough to say…"

Natsu blinked in astonishment, piecing together the puzzle, but immediately hitting a wall. There was definitely something going on here…

Lucy then sighed and stretched, changing the depressing subject and looking up, "so this is the ropes course, huh? That's a lot higher than I expected."

She stood up and began to walk around it, inspecting the whole thing. Natsu followed her around, still silently and stubbornly refusing to give up on this puzzle.

"Oh, a rock wall?"

"Yeah, you climb to the top and then glide back down," he pointed up at a few ledges sticking out of the wall, "somewhere around there is kinda tricky, but you'll probably make it."

"I'm not athletic."

There's something else he learned about her, but he didn't voice it, "on this side of the wall, a ladder goes up about halfway before you climb the pole. Then you walk across the beam to the other pole there. After they hook you up to that wire up there, you jump off the ledge."

"Jump off?! I have to _jump off?!_ "

"Yup!" Natsu flashed her that smile again. "It's awesome! You'll love it!" The expression on her face was priceless and he found himself doubled over, laughing.

"I am not doing the ropes course! Maybe the rock wall, but _not_ the ropes course!"

"Come on!" Natsu said, "you'll love it! Really! The hardest part is climbing the pole! The rest is easy!"

Lucy groaned, but before she could say anything, something caught her attention and she turned around. "Do I hear…running water?"

"There's a creek over there. We go there for recreation one day, and sometimes during free time."

Speaking of free time, Lucy glanced down at her watch and gasped, "oh my gosh! We're late for Family Group Time! It's five-forty!"

"Stop panicking," Natsu was amused at how weird she was when he got to know her (even if it was only a tiny bit). He chuckled as she hastily began to pick up the picnic blanket and food. "It's only boring family group…no big deal."

"I don't wanna get in trouble!" She exclaimed, "Now come and help me!"

"Fine, fine…" As he helped her clean up, he asked, "what group are you in?"

"Four. You?"

"I'm in five so our meetings can't be far away. Where does your group meet at?"

"The library, in the main hall."

The main hall was all the way across the property. He and Lucy couldn't be farther, unless, of course, they were in the creek.

"My group meets in the game room across the hall so we can go together."

"Okay," she said as began to run.

Natsu called after her as he walked calmly, "Oi, Lucy! We're already late so we might as well take our time!"

She spun around, running backwards, "I don't want to be _later_ than I already am, Natsu! Now hurry up or I'll leave you behind!"

He found himself laughing again as he hurried to check up with her. " _This weirdo is funny. I like her._ "

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 **11/16/15 – 11/18/16 == the date I wrote this.**

 **-zEllie**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey guys! How ya doing? If you guys know, can you tell me how I can see how many followers I have on FanFiction? My parents and friends keep asking me…**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail**

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Summer Camp (Ch. 6)

Family Group Time was just as torturous as it was in the morning. It was just so awkward playing a board game with strangers. It helped a bit that Mira and Wendy were there, but Wendy seemed to have bonded with Shelia and Mira was the leader, instructing everyone.

Thankfully, Lucy's Family Group had finished up before Natsu's and she somehow knew that if it was the opposite, he'd be standing there waiting for her.

Finally, some quiet time to herself…

Lucy got away from everyone as fast as she could, and sighed in relief when the coldness of the loneliness surrounded her.

"Thank goodness…" She sighed. It was like a drug, she had realized. It was a drug she loved. Lucy didn't really know where she was on campus, but she was alone and that was enough.

She closed her eyes, relaxing against a tree. It was a five minutes of frostbitten paradise. Five minutes of silence and cold. Five minutes until Natsu found her.

"Hey! Lucy!"

Lucy opened her eyes, sighing at the sight of Natsu running up to her with that big grin on his face…Well honestly, she really liked his smile…

"Hi Natsu," she responded.

He stopped in front of her, "what are you doing?"

She sighed again, standing up straight, "Just enjoying the beautiful, warm weather."

"It _is_ nice, isn't it?" He took a deep breath, looking toward the forest. It was a moment before he asked her, "ready for dinner?"

Dinner? She wasn't the least bit hungry. They had lunch and then snacked for an hour and a half. "No, not really."

"Well I'm _starving!_ " He exclaimed, grabbing her hand and pulling her along. "Let's go see what's for dinner!"

Lucy sweat dropped as he pulled her toward the cafeteria. " _He literally has a black hole for a stomach. How is he so skinny?!_ "

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Late night, Lucy discovered, was a lot like recreation, except the fact that they were at-night activities. Tonight, there was campfire and bonfire…literally: there were two fires. One was small to roast hotdogs and marshmallows and the other was so tall, it reached farther than the tips of the trees.

Surprisingly, when Lucy had left her cabin, Natsu was not there waiting for her. It caught her off guard, since he's been glued to her side all day…but it made her happy. She smiled and sighed in relief. _Finally_ …

The bonfire was easy to spot out; it was near the forest, but away from the trees somewhat of a ways from the girls' cabin. A little ways after that, she could see, into the woods, was the campfire. She sighed again.

" _I've been literally eating_ all _day…this isn't good for my figure_."

She followed a group of four teens that made their way to the fires. Most of the youth groups were already there, but some stragglers were making their way there now. Lucy was one of them. It was slightly cold out and Lucy hugged her large sweatshirt she wore on the way here to her, but she was sure she'd warm up when she'd reach the light.

The four in front of her began laughing, bringing her attention to them as they walked.

" _I know her. That's Yukino, she's in my family group…and Natsu told me that those two are Sting and Rogue…but who's the other girl?_ " She had long, straight black hair with two braids on each side of her head.

When she reached the fire, she walked by a group of kids horsing around near the bonfire, throwing rocks and dirt into it and threatening to push their friend into it as well. Lucy went straight by them however, and made her way toward the campfire.

And there was Natsu, stuffing his face…

She watched him as she shoved down smore after smore and hotdog after hotdog. How he was able to cook them that fast was beyond her. " _He really_ does _have a black hole for a stomach._ " The good news was, he didn't notice her, which was great.

She sat down opposite from him, but near the fire on a log to warm up. She wasn't the least bit hungry, but had always enjoyed campfires. Lucy closed her eyes, sighing.

Despite the fact she was in front of a fire, she felt that lonely cold inject itself in her veins like a shot. She _adored_ it.

Licking her lips like the ice tasted good, she attempted to disappear…and that plan only worked for ten beautiful, lonely minutes.

"You're not hungry?" It wasn't Natsu, but her bubble was still popped.

She looked up at him. "No."

Taking a bite out of a hotdog and sitting next to her, he held out his hand, "Gray."

"Lucy," she hesitated, but shook his hand.

He was _cold…_

She usually liked the cold, heck, she _loved_ it, but he was absolutely _frigid!_ That wasn't the kind of cold Lucy was accustomed to, but she didn't know if he ran colder than normal, or if he just needed to be near the fire.

Before she could stop herself, Lucy raised an eyebrow and asked, "Are you the guy who keeps stripping?"

The look on Gray's face was full of horror, but quickly turned into embarrassment. "Heh heh…yeah sorry, bad habit…"

She didn't even _want_ to know…

"Are you from Fairy Tail?"

"Yeah," Lucy replied, scooting slightly away. He seemed a little too close… "I'm…a-actually the new student…"

"Oh that's right!" Gray just simply scooted closer to her, "there was rumor at the end of the year about a new girl coming to Fairy Tail."

"Oh joy…the things people probably said about me…"

Gray laughed, "don't worry, they weren't anything bad. Just the fact that you were pretty…and they were right."

An embarrassed blush spread across her face, " _is he…_ flirting _with me?_ " At least he wasn't like Hibiki…

Gray seemed to lean closer still, and she could see his eyes flicker to something behind her, smirking at it. Before she could follow his gaze however, Gray's fingers began to lace around hers.

Okay! That's enough!

Lucy jumped up away from him, face beat-red and pounding heart. "I-I…g-gotta go to the bathroom!" The nearest bathroom was her cabin, but she was okay with walking back.

She was out of there in a split second, slapping her blushing cheeks and shaking her head. " _What was_ that _all about?! Does he_ like _me?!_ "

"Hey Lucy! Wait up!"

She didn't stop, but Natsu had caught up with her, "Where are you going?"

"Back to my cabin."

"But you were barely here…" He whined.

"Look Natsu," She snapped, stopping and turning to him, "I just…want some time alone, okay?"

He stared at her, silently with a raised eyebrow before asking, "are you okay?"

"Yeah! I'm fine!"

He paused again, hesitating, "are you on the…monthly…woman…thing?"

Lucy gapped at him, "Natsu!"

Natsu's hands went up in defense, "hey! I was just wondering!"

"Don't ever ask me that again…" She muttered walking away.

"Oi! Where are you going?!" He ran to catch up with her again.

"Back to my cabin…" She just answered that question…

"Please don't…that's the one place I can't hang out with you."

Lucy stopped again, turning to him. Natsu was biting his lip, looking down at his sandals kicking a rock. Hesitantly, he slowly met her gaze.

"Oh come on," Lucy pouted, puffing out her cheek. "There's plenty other people to hang out with…like Sting and Rogue and the rest of your friends from Fairy Tail."

"They're not you though," he countered, "and I don't know you like I know the rest of these losers here."

"Wow," she sweat dropped, "you really love your friends…"

"I do!" He flashed her that goofy grin.

"If you love your friends go hang out with them; you've hung out with me most of the day," she said. "Plus, I'll only bore you to death and ruin your night."

Natsu's eyes softened, "I highly doubt you'll bore me…and you'll in no way ruin my night."

Lucy stared at him.

"Look," Natsu said, taking a step toward her, secretly happy she didn't stop back. "I'll throw in a rule just tonight."

"Huh?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I'm aware you don't like to be touched or be too close to anyone; your bubble is rather large."

"What are you talking about? The size of my bubble is just like anyone else's!" She pouted again.

"I meant like this."

Natsu took two more steps toward her; he was pressed against her before she even saw it coming. Lucy blinked as she was forehead-to-forehead, nose-to-nose, and chest-to-chest with Natsu. She drew a blank for a moment, staring into his onyx eyes before realization hit her. She jumped away in surprise; she backed away at least three feet.

"Like that!" The goofy smile was just proof that he had no idea what he just did to her quickly beating heart that had just recently calm down from Gray's shenanigans. "I'll stay the preferred distance away from you if you let me hang out with you."

Lucy didn't answer, she was still recovering.

"…Come on, Lucy, I _want_ to hang out with you."

She sighed, " _Oh for goodness' sakes…_ "

"I'll be at the barn if you want to meet me there…"

"Yes!" He exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air.

"And I like this rule; I want you to follow it."

"Oki-doki!" He jumped up and down.

" _I swear, he's internally a child_ … _He's really nice though…_ "

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 **I'm so sorry it's been a while again! I know I said I'd write more and I really am, it's just really hard with no inspiration. I was able to get this going tho! The next planned chapters is hopefully the third of "Lucy Heartfilia: FanFiction Author" (I've been trying to write that for a long time now…), I promised my friend a chapter of "Little Red Riding Hood" since she did well on her exams, a chapter of "Tree House", and then we'll see from there. Thank you guys so much to being patient! I hope you enjoyed!**

 **-zEllie**


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